Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) removal from Windows
KB ID: 5067470
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See Timeline:
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"2026: The WMIC utility has been removed from currently supported versions of Windows 11. The removal is reflected in Windows Insider Preview builds and will be included in the August 2026 preview update for Windows 11, versions 24H2 and 25H2. WMIC is also removed from Windows 11, version 26H1. It is no longer available as a Feature on Demand (FoD)."
See Take action:
"If you have been using the WMIC utility for administrative tasks or in applications, we recommend you migrate away from the WMIC utility and use supported alternatives."
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"Use PowerShell for WMI tasks. WMI in PowerShell includes built-in cmdlets for Windows Management Instrumentation that can do everything WMIC did (and more). Common WMIC queries can be directly replaced with PowerShell commands."
For example, to return a list of process names:
- Replace the WMIC query: wmic path win32_process get Name.
- Use the PowerShell command instead: Get-CimInstance Win32_Process | Select-Object Name.
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"If you have batch files or scripts that call WMIC, plan to rewrite them using PowerShell cmdlets (such as Get-CimInstance, Get-WmiObject, Invoke-CimMethod, and so forth). If needed, run PowerShell from a CMD prompt using powershell -c "<command>" syntax. So, even in command-line contexts, you can invoke PowerShell commands to replace WMIC."
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Other Articles:
- https://www.scworld.com/brief/microsoft-removes-wmic-tool-from-windows-11
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_11
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/removed-deprecated-features-windows-server?tabs=ws25
References:
WMIC: WMI command-line utility
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmisdk/wmic
